During a panic-filled October fifty years ago, the world teetered on the brink of annihilation. Reports that the U.S.S.R aimed to set up secret missile bases in Cuba—the Communist-run Caribbean nation that had just rebuffed the disastrous U.S.-hatched Bay of Pigs invasion in August—triggered a conflagration of global proportions. The drums of war sounded, with the U.S. contemplating risky military action. The Soviets, whose territory was surrounded by hundreds of American installations, eventually backed down, opting against deploying their weapons of mass destruction in Cuba. An American blockade of the island nation set in and has remained to this day.

Global Secular Humanist MovementSaturday.50 years ago, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, second-in-command Vasilli Arkhipov of the Soviet submarine B-59 refused to agree with his Captain's order to launch nuclear torpedos against US warships and setting off what might well have been a terminal superpower nuclear war.The US had been dropping depth charges near the submarine in an attempt to force it to surface, unaware it was carrying nuclear arms. The Soviet officers, who had lost radio contact with Moscow, concluded that World War 3 had begun, and 2 of the officers agreed to 'blast the warships out of the water'. Arkhipov refused to agree - unanimous consent of 3 officers was required - and thanks to him, we are here to talk about it.His story is finally being told - the BBC is airing a documentary on it.Raise a glass to Vasilli Arkhipov - the Man Who Saved the World.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov

Westerners fear the muslim world too much. Much the same way McCarthy pulled us into the anti-communist mindset so did 9/11 and George W. Bush pull us into an air for fear toward Islamic nations. Just because Iran has been a hostile nation since the exile of the Shah under Carter does not in it self mean Iran is a current threat like the Cuban Missile Crisis. We must give the nation a chance. I admit that I lack a fair ammount of knowledge on the subject, but i see no reason for this fear